Mr President, it is very important to highlight the issue of abduction of children in armed conflict, because it is often the “gateway” to greater abuses against children and graver violations of international humanitarian law.
We can safely affirm that never in recent memory have so many children been subjected to brutality. The Secretary General’s 2015 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict provides a horror list of the forms of violence to which children have been subjected in 2014: killed, maimed, abducted, enslaved, recruited as soldiers, displaced, trafficked, sexually abused. New levels of violence have been inflicted on children namely using them as suicide bombers and as human shields. An estimated 230 million children currently live in areas affected by armed conflicts. The year 2014 has been touted as the worst year for children affected by armed conflict.
The entire fabric of life and society is torn, as homes, schools, health systems and religious institutions are no longer safe from attacks and military operations indeed, these institutions have become frequent targets in armed conflicts. Countless others grow up deprived of their material and emotional needs. In the early 1900s, around 5% of fatalities were civilians, while in the 1990s, over 90% of the fatalities were civilians, so many of them children.Ī disproportionate number of children are killed and injured. One of the saddest developments in the evolution of armed conflicts is that more and more victims are civilians. Mr President, At the outset, my delegation wishes to congratulate Malaysia for its Presidency during this month and, in particular, for scheduling this debate on Children and Armed Conflict. PERMANENT OBSERVER OF THE HOLY SEE TO THE UNITED NATIONS * AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON "CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT"
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